Softly Call the Muster

April 21st marks the date that Texas Aggies around the world note the occasion of the passing of Aggies during the previous calendar year. The anniversary of Aggie Muster is held on the anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto, the final battle of the Texas Revolution. Texas Aggie alumni are known worldwide for their love of school. Texas A&M presently has over 508,000

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who claim Aggieland as their home. Upon enrollment, each student is assigned their college graduation class year to accompany their name, which is forever how they are known for the remainder of their lifetimes, as Class of 2027 for those who enter this coming fall semester.

Once each year, since

, Aggie Muster ceremonies statewide marked the passing of Aggies in the preceding year honor those who have left the ranks of active former students. At the main campus, the ceremony honoring Aggies is now held in Reed Arena, while many area residents recall attending the old G. Rollie White Coliseum. Across Texas, individual Aggie Clubs host an annual ceremony honoring those from geographical areas who are best known to their hometowns. As candles are lit, the names of those who have passed away are read aloud, and one or more designated persons will answer the Roll Call with “Here.” They are important, they are regarded, and they are remembered forever as Aggies.

More than just a number, your Aggie class year denotes that you belong, forever, to a school to which you pledge your loyalty as an undergraduate. What used to be considered the Aggie Code of Honor, “Aggies do not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do,” is a credo that has become enhanced by the addition of what

RELLIS

stands for, six core values of “respect, excellence, leadership, loyalty, integrity, and selfless service.”

The Code of Honor lives on at A&M, preserved by the keepers of the flame, the TAMU Corps of Cadets. The admiration for and love of Aggies that is so fervent to those who possess it is something that people say that, outside you cannot see inside, and inside, you see no other way. School pride and love of education and educators runs deep and permanently among Aggies, as with virtually any other Texas-based school, where residents take their school pride seriously, if not defiantly, particularly at sports competitions.

However, Aggies are unique in that once you embrace the school and its traditions, along with it comes a fierce determination to preserve what we perceive as the “best” of what the school is. Over the close to 150 years of the school’s founding, we’ve gone from “college” to “university” and expanded the experience of what it means to be part of a larger system. The main school was once the only institution considered “A&M” and today, it is a vast ecosystem of campuses, similarly branded and able to include all those who embrace Aggie traditions.

When all is said and done, whether it is 1943, 1983, 2003, or 2023, one thing is sure. The tradition of Aggie Muster will continue. All those who have passed away in the calendar year will be remembered forever and their memories honored. The legacy and tradition of Aggieland in the hearts and minds of thousands will continue as long as Texas A&M University endures, to which they will always belong. Softly call the muster…

Cody D. Jones ‘02

Owner & Community Member.